BNY Asks to Toss U.S. Fraud Case Over Currency Trading

March 28 (Bloomberg) -- Bank of New York Mellon Corp., the
world’s largest custody bank, contested claims by the U.S. that
it defrauded clients in foreign-exchange transactions and asked
a court to dismiss the government’s lawsuit.

BNY Mellon said disclosures that it made to clients about
the trading negate the claim that the bank engaged in a “scheme
to defraud,” according to a court filing yesterday in federal
court in Manhattan.

“The purported scheme to defraud is implausible,” BNY
Mellon said. “A party that knows exactly what it is getting,
and at what price, cannot have been defrauded.”

The U.S. Attorney in Manhattan said in an amended complaint
that BNY Mellon defrauded clients, including public pension
funds, of more than $1.5 billion through foreign-currency
trades. The bank is also facing claims by several states over
the same issue.

Ellen Davis, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office,
declined to comment on BNY Mellon’s filing.

The case is U.S. v. Bank of New York Mellon Corp., 11-6969,
U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).